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Great Britain
Sprint Weekend
Sprint18h 2m
“I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can't express to you how big a dream it is, and still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you. “And the car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max. “I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the session but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here. "We're ahead of a Mercedes and the Red Bull, they have so much power these guys. They've been doing amazing all year, the boys in blue (Mercedes) this weekend, these champs. But my team won't let up, they'll keep pushing, and that's what I'm so proud of. "It won't always be like this, but we didn't expect coming to Silverstone that we'd be competing for the front row, we really, really didn't. So, this is an amazing surprise. I'm ecstatic. "I think our pace was good. We did a short sort of longish run in practice, there wasn't a lot of time. But the car felt good there, so I think we should have a good race tomorrow.”
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton pips Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli to a stunning pole position for the sprint race at the British Grand Prix.
P1) Lewis Hamilton - 1:28.376 P2) Kimi Antonelli: +0.011 P3) Max Verstappen: +0.321 P4) Charles Leclerc: +0.327 P5) George Russell: +0.357 P6) Lando Norris: +0.364 P7) Oscar Piastri: +0.396 P8) Isack Hadjar: +0.459 P9) Liam Lawson: +0.551 P10) Arvid Lindblad: +0.991 Knocked Out (Q2) P11) Pierre Gasly P12) Gabriel Bortoleto P13) Nico Hulkenberg P14) Franco Colapinto P15) Carlos Sainz Jnr P16) Alexander Albon Knocked Out (Q1) P17) Oliver Bearman P18) Esteban Ocon P19) Sergio Perez P20) Valtteri Bottas P21) Fernando Alonso P22) Lance Stroll
🇬🇧 Sprint Qualifying
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has confirmed Lewis Hamilton will stay with the team in 2027, replying “Yes” when asked by Corriere della Sera. Vasseur said he had “underestimated the scale of the transition from Mercedes to Ferrari” last year, but added: “Now he knows the tools, the people and our approach. And with these good results, he’s entered a virtuous circle.” Vasseur also insisted the SF-26 has not been built around Hamilton, saying: “We don’t tailor F1 cars to one driver or another.”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said Toto Wolff’s comments about Ferrari’s rate of upgrades were “quite ironic”, after the Mercedes boss suggested Ferrari should “need to be running out of cost cap money soon”. Vasseur said: "I found it quite ironic coming from Toto and Mercedes. But when Red Bull is developing or when Mercedes is developing they are geniuses; when we are developing we are cheating! I think you have to calm down with this. We didn't bring more parts than Red Bull or another one. If you think that we overshoot the cost cap, for me, it's going into this direction. I think it was better to avoid to speak."
McLaren will not run Mercedes’ latest-spec power unit at the British Grand Prix, despite the new engines beginning to be rolled out to customer teams at Silverstone. It is understood McLaren has been advised there is still sufficient mileage left in its current engine, partly because early-season reliability problems – including its double did not start in China – left it behind rivals on distance covered. If it racks up normal mileage this weekend, McLaren is expected to switch to its third power unit at the next race in Belgium.
Max Verstappen says Formula 1 drivers should not “look like kids or clowns” as the Lego drivers’ parade returns at Silverstone this weekend. Verstappen said: "Because at the end of the day we are Formula 1 drivers, I think we should not look like kids and clowns trying to ram into each other. I don't think that is what Formula 1 needs, but it is what it is."
George Russell admitted the single yellow flag shown after Max Verstappen’s crash in Q3 at the Austrian Grand Prix “should have been” a double yellow, which would have required him to abort the lap that put him on pole. Russell said: "So, should that incident have been a double yellow? Of course it should have been. But there are many times in the past where drivers say it shouldn't have been a double yellow, and single yellow is sufficient, so it's not an easy job they have."
Williams boss James Vowles says he is confident the team can keep Carlos Sainz and that the driver wants to build his future at Williams, even though both are frustrated by the start to the 2026 season. Vowles said: "He and I talk not daily, but probably every two days, and I think I'm right in saying he came out yesterday and said this is where he wants to be, this is where he wants his career to be, so he and I align. Is he frustrated by where we are today? Yes. Being candid, I'm frustrated as well at the same time. What we have to demonstrate to him… I'm confident we'll be able to do this."
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton leads the way in practice at the British Grand Prix before sprint qualifying later on Friday.
P1) Lewis Hamilton - 1:29.260 P2) Kimi Antonelli: +0.213 P3) Charles Leclerc: +0.599 P4) George Russell: +0.678 P5) Oscar Piastri: +0.887 P6) Max Verstappen: +0.980 P7) Lando Norris: +1.028 P8) Isack Hadjar: +1.078 P9) Nico Hulkenberg: +1.483 P10) Liam Lawson: +1.590 P11) Franco Colapinto: +1.706 P12) Gabriel Bortoleto: +1.775 P13) Arvid Lindblad: +2.079 P14) Oliver Bearman: +2.113 P15) Carlos Sainz Jnr: +2.424 P16) Esteban Ocon: +2.424 P17) Alexander Albon: +2.437 P18) Valtteri Bottas: +2.976 P19) Sergio Perez: +2.981 P20) Fernando Alonso: +3.697 P21) Pierre Gasly: +3.759 P22) Lance Stroll: +3.870
Max Verstappen says George Russell did nothing wrong by completing his Austrian Grand Prix pole lap under single-waved yellow flags after Verstappen’s Q3 crash, but believes it should not have been possible to finish the lap in that situation. Verstappen said: "Now you can read the rules really well and you complete your lap and you're allowed to keep it. But I think, first of all, it should not have been a single yellow. That is at least double yellow or a red. That the driver then of course optimises around it, I think that's fair play. I probably would have tried to do the same - that's just how it goes."
Lando Norris said he believes he can beat “any driver” after being asked whether he could beat Max Verstappen in the same car, amid reports of informal talks between McLaren and Verstappen’s camp during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Norris said: "I do believe I can… but I think we have to just word it carefully. I do believe I can beat any driver."
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